where curiosity guides your education

Main menu

Category Archives: sports

A healthy body leads to a healthy mind. We’ve all heard that statement, but how often do we, as parents, let the notion of physical education slide with our kids – especially if our child tends to be a target of bullying or is just generally clumsy?

There’s a lot you can learn from organized sports, beyond developing healthy habits to keep your body fit. Teamwork is an important life skill people need, but that’s not always the goal of signing up for a sport.

Stepping outside your comfort zone and pushing your body to a limit can help a person develop a work ethic and stamina for striving towards goals that will help them long after they’ve cooled down and showered. More importantly, though, getting involved in a sport at an early age encourages the development of positive coping skills for when a person needs an outlet for letting go of stress or finding a way to relax.

Selecting a sport for your child usually involves a balance between time commitment (someone’s got to do the driving) and finances (ice hockey, for example, requires a lot of expensive equipment). A child’s personal preference also plays a big role in picking a sport.

If your idea of a good time does not include watching a bunch of little kids standing idly in a baseball field – while 3 kids try to do something with a small ball (namely the pitcher, the catcher, and the batter), then take a look at these 95 different organized sports your kid can learn.

We’ve taken that list and broken it down into a short list of sport suggestions for 6 different types of kids.

Your child has an incredible amount of energy, try:

Swimming or water polo

Track and field

Speed skating

Your child is a natural risk taker, try:

Parkour (yes, there’s a class for that)

Diving

Kickboxing

Your child takes a logical approach to everything, try:

Billiards (think vectors)

Juggling (there’s math involved)

Orienteering

Your child lacks coordination, try:

Kayaking

Horseback riding

Weightlifting

Your child doesn’t like team sports, try:

Wrestling

Golf

Tennis

Your child doesn’t like competing with others, try:

Archery

Rock climbing

Roller skating

What sports have your kids participated in? What’s been their favorite?What’s been dreaded?

UPDATED to include information about K12’s press release on the NCAA’s ruling.

The NCAA recently announced that 24 specific K12 cyberschools will no longer be eligible for initial eligibility certification that would allow them to play Division 1 or 2 sports in college.

Subsequent to ongoing review, notification was sent to 24 schools affiliated with K12 Inc. this week informing them of a change in their NCAA status. Coursework completed from this group of schools in the 2014-15 academic year and beyond will not be used in the initial-eligibility certification process. Coursework completed from the spring 2013 semester through the spring 2014 semester will be subject to further review on a case-by-case basis, which will require additional academic documentation. Coursework completed in the fall 2012 semester and prior may be used in the initial-eligibility certification process.

(Please note that a number of other K12-affiliated schools remain under Extended Evaluation. For schools that remain under Extended Evaluation, coursework completed in the spring 2013 semester and beyond will continue to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Coursework completed in the fall 2012 semester and prior may be used in the initial-eligibility certification process. However, student-specific documentation for all coursework, regardless of completion date, will be required for schools that remain under Extended Evaluation.)

K12’s corporate office issued a statement regarding the NCAA ruling. While they do not specifically say so, the press release suggests that the reason for the ruling relates to an NCAA requirement that students and instructors must have “ongoing access to one another” and “regular interaction” throughout the duration of the course.

Do you think K12 is being unfairly targeted by the NCAA?

More importantly, what is it about cyberschools and online education that is making certain students less competitive for even non-academic scholarships?